Lakeland's Own Ray Lewis Thanks City for Life Lessons

The city of Lakeland set aside Saturday to honor Polk County's champions as the city set out to pay tribute to the trio of Ray Lewis, Albert McClellan and Jah Reid.

By RICK BROWNTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | The city of Lakeland set aside Saturday to honor Polk County's champions as the city set out to pay tribute to the trio of Ray Lewis, Albert McClellan and Jah Reid, who were members of the Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens football team.What the day turned into was the county's biggest sports star, Lewis, paying his own tribute, not only to the people who helped shape his career when he was at Kathleen High, but to the city itself.Marching bands, high school color guards, choirs, dance teams and step teams all performed in honor of the three players who attended high school in Polk County. Lewis and McClellan attended Kathleen, while Reid attended Haines City.In the crowd of about 300 on a blustery and chilly Saturday morning along the promenade at Lake Mirror, people mostly wearing the purple colors of the Ravens gathered for close to 90 minutes to pay tribute to the sons of Polk County.McClellan and Reid could not attend but those representing them gave stories of two men who were never given anything but earned their accolades through hard work.McClellan, who was represented by his grandmother and his former high school coach, Richard Tate, is recovering from shoulder surgery he had Tuesday. He sent his gratitude in a letter.Reid was on a cruise and could not attend. His former high school coach, Bill Buldini, weaved a story of Reid being a leader in high school and how things did not come easy for Reid, who had no college scholarships in his senior year but through dedication earned one to the University of Central Florida.Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields declared Saturday as Albert McClellan Day and declared the month of March as Ray Lewis Month. Both Kathleen alums had artist's renderings of themselves, and Lewis also received an honor from his social fraternity, Omega Psi Phi.Finally, the crowd got what it wanted — to hear Lewis speak. The newly retired 17-year NFL vet captivated the crowd for nearly 25 minutes with messages that were part sermon but all gratitude for the people and the county that affected his life."If I had a gift to repay you, it would be my effort," Lewis said. "There has been a lot of peaks and valleys in my life. But every time I did not want to get up, I got up. That's what our city always represented. That's who we are. Every day may not be a good day but we find a way to make it a great day. That's just who we are.The city taught me effort," he said. "It taught me to never quit in life for nothing."Lewis said that lesson hit home when he tore his triceps earlier this year and the doctor told him his season was over. But through his faith, he was determined to make it back for what he called "his last ride.""Sometimes when God gets ready to take you to the highest of highs, mom can't go with you," he said to the audience. "Your pastor can't go with you. Sometimes when God gets ready to turn you around and do a real 360 in your life and show you what your visions really are, you've got to go by yourself."When Lewis was younger, he said he always liked to run to stay in shape. It also allowed him to think. Sometimes people would run with him, but often he was alone and people didn't understand why he ran so much.Lewis said the reason was simple."Nobody ever knew why I went on those long runs and kept running and running and running," he explained. "They didn't know what I was running for. I was running to put my city on the map because we produce champions. We produce people who really work hard and believe in something."Thank you, Lakeland," he ended. "I can never repay you guys. I can only reward you by telling you I gave everything I had, and you guys were the major reason why."